This invention relates to a device for installing a refrigerator deodorizer mounted on an evaporator located in an intermediate compartment between the freezing compartment and the cooling compartment of a refrigerator, where the intermediate compartment is the place where air circulated throughout the interior of the refrigerator is concentrated.
A refrigerator used for storing various kinds of fresh food which are susceptible to being easily spoiled is generally divided into freezing and cooling compartments in order to preserve foods at two different temperatures, which is achieved by the following method: air circulated by a blower fan in the refrigerator passes through an evaporator which is comprised of a great number of refrigerant pipes and cooling fins so as to chill the air; the chilled air is then supplied to the freezing and the cooling compartments. However, unpleasant odors emitted by various kinds of food stored in the compartments are inevitably circulated along with the air throughout the interior of the refrigerator, so that the odors impair the freshness of other foods, which is an undesirable effect arising from the use of the refrigerator.
As shown in FIG. 5, a conventional art has been disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,567 in which a deodorizer comprises a deodorizing element 3 which adsorbs odor components contained in the air. That element is placed under a vertical type evaporator 2 mounted on the backside of the freezing compartment, a heater 4 is provided for decomposing the adsorbed odor components by means of heating the deodorizing element 3, and a cover 5 protects the above-listed parts from water generated on the surface of the evaporator 2 by the defrosting cycle.
In the conventional deodorizer, the deodorizing element 3 adsorbs the odor components contained in the air circulated throughout the interior of the refrigerator by a blower fan 1, and then the heater 4, which is operated at constant time intervals, decomposes the adsorbed odor components with heat, and therefore the odor components are thereby removed from the deodorizer.
But, the conventional deodorizer has disadvantages in that it requires a separate space for its installation in a refrigerator and also an additional space for protecting the adjacent surfaces from the heat generated by the heater 4. Furthermore, the deodorizing effect of the deodorizer is not efficient because the air passage where the air from the freezing compartment and the cooling compartment is blended into one stream is relatively large so that a large amount of the circulating odor components are not adsorbed by the deodorizing element.
When the conventional deodorizer is installed in a refrigerator in which a horizontal type evaporator is located in the intermediate compartment between the freezing compartment and the cooling compartment, the aforementioned disadvantage exists due to the requirement of a separate space for the installation in the refrigerator and an additional space for protecting the adjacent surfaces from heat generated by the heater.
An ozone deodorizer is another method used for removing the odors in a refrigerator. But, that method has disadvantages in that additional electric power is necessary and excessive noise is generated by the fan in the ozone deodorizer.